Alex and Ani LLC will cut nine jobs from its Seven Swords Media unit as it prepares to turn over much of its marketing work to an external advertising agency. The jewelry manufacturer said earlier this week it had selected MODCo Group of New York as its advertising agency of record following a search that was completed in April.
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Social media has become second nature for many small-business owners and startup entrepreneurs. Business owners spend significant time – and sometimes money as well – seeking fans, likes and followers on all kinds of social platforms, from Facebook and Twitter, to LinkedIn, Quora, Tumblr and Pinterest, among others.
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Direct selling may never totally shed the image of Tupperware and restless housewives that make it seem stuck in the 1960s. But the loosely affiliated networks of independent salespeople pitching to friends and acquaintances make up a formidable industry. Timothy J. Brown, president of Jamie Oliver at Home North America, is a longtime champion of direct selling and believes its heyday is now. After leaving Taunton direct-sales firm Princess House in 2006, Brown was looking for his next project when he fell under the spell of British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, whose commercial empire has only begun to reach across the Atlantic. more

One way to convince a small business to move to Providence is to “bribe your boss,” a somewhat light-hearted – yet pointed – take on economic development that invites employees, by way of a new website, to send the boss’ contact information so movers, shakers and believers in the city can take the leader to lunch and “make driving back to the ‘burbs tough.”
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PROVIDENCE – A Providence College 2013 recruitment publication entitled “Great Minds Don’t All Think Alike,” recently earned a top award in a competition sponsored by a Washington, D.C.-based higher-education group.
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